Rust's home is closer to Strip Avenue than Dean's home, fully showing the bustling side of this metropolis.
Rare trees and exotic flowers and plants from all over the world have been transplanted to the core of the city at a high price, where they bloom and exude fragrance all year round.
Along the main road are shopping malls with strange shapes that resemble pyramids, pirate ships, and iron towers, cinemas, and casinos with slot machines at the entrance. They are painted in various strong and bright colors. Even in broad daylight, a large area is located on the roof and The neon billboard at the gate is still dazzling and eye-catching.
There is a constant flow of luxury cars of all kinds on the road.
On the streets and in the middle of the square, clowns with funny face paint are riding unicycles and throwing and catching balls.
A man in a tuxedo wearing stilts and hanging colorful balloons behind him is showing off his beautiful singing voice that is comparable to that of a dolphin.
The naked black man folded his body back like a snake,
The third brother from India performed the levitation technique with his legs crossed like an enlightened monk. The statue man whose body was painted in brass suddenly screamed, making the passing woman giggle.
…
Dean watched it with great interest, but in 1980, the famous hotels such as the Venetian and Bellagio had not yet been built.
Today's Las Vegas Strip lacks some of the splendor and top-notch luxury.
…
The two gradually moved away from the noise, pushing their bicycles for ten minutes in a narrow and dark alley behind a department store, and entered a shabby apartment.
Dean met Rust's mother, Grace Spencer, who was completely different from the middle-aged woman he imagined who was fattened by the pressure of life. She had thick red hair, a tall figure, beautiful features, and wore a fashionable red dress.
"Hi, Grace."
"Dean? Welcome, Rust often mentions you and says you are his best friend!"
Grace welcomed the little guest into her home and treated her warmly.
It's almost dinner time.
In order to thank Dean for helping her son with his studies, Grace carefully prepared golden mashed potatoes with a rich milky aroma and flavored crepes that were too sweet. Dean was not used to this kind of sweetness, but in order not to let him The two over-enthusiastic hosts were disappointed and ate everything.
The main course, pan-fried pork chops, was a big surprise. It was crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. It didn’t have the slightest fishy smell of pork. Dean, who was hungry after training all afternoon, finished three pieces in a row without even leaving any soup. Ms. Si was elated and smiled from ear to ear.
…
After dinner, the hostess dressed up beautifully and went to the hotel to work the night shift.
Dean and Rust are left at home.
Dean, who was paralyzed on the sofa, twisted his neck to the music while enjoying the "Grease" playing on the big black tube TV - a man with oily hair and an Australian girl with a hot body dancing in an exciting way. disco.
He turned his head and glanced next to him, where Rust was staring out the window in a daze.
"Man, don't you like Travolta? Change the channel."
Rust smiled sheepishly, "I don't like watching TV or boring movies."
Dean looked confused.
Rust explained,
"I have never watched TV before I was seventeen. My dad set this rule... He said that 99% of TV, movies, and music will have a negative impact on the human brain, which is worse than DND (Dragon and Underground). (city) is more harmful. Not only the radiation, but also the harmful content inside. If you come into contact with too many people, you will not be able to calm down and study and work in a down-to-earth manner."
Dean was stunned.
Could it be that his father traveled from the future?
In the future, short videos will make people more and more addicted, and the more addicted they are, the less patient they will be.
"Without TV, how would you spend the long nights reading and studying?"
"Sometimes I read a book and look at the starry sky outside the window. I was born in Texas, but later lived in Alaska for a long time. The starry sky in the countryside is completely different from the starry sky here in the city, which is occupied by lights day and night. It is vast, quiet and clear, suitable for divergent thinking and quiet thinking.”
"What are you thinking about? Getting into a good university and getting a beautiful girlfriend?" Dean joked,
"This is just one of them... I prefer to make up stories about the dark night sky and twinkling stars, like dark Satan and bright angels." Rust paused and said seriously,
Dean thought for a while, what kind of family would raise such a middle-aged child.
"By the way, why didn't you see your wise father today? What does he do?"
This question is like a switch that turns off the lights in the room.
A dark emotion quietly grew.
Rust suddenly lowered his face, gritted his teeth, and remained silent for a long time. Then he suddenly raised his head, as if he had made up his mind.
"I never tell anyone, but I admire your bravery in the cafeteria today, so I tell you. My dad has been gone for a long time. And it was only after Grace and I got the death benefit that we found out he was a policeman .”
The frozen smile on Dean's face instantly transferred to the void,
"Sorry, man. I shouldn't have brought this up."
"Why are you apologizing? I'm much luckier than you."
Rust looked over seriously,
Dean's cheeks stiffened, and his heart stung twice as if being pricked by needles.
right!
He also forgot that in his previous life, both his parents were missing, which was much worse than Rust's, whose mother was still alive.
"Then your father is an undercover anti-drug policeman?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. His colleagues never disclosed his specific work. But when he was a child, he was always elusive and could not be seen all year round." Rust looked at the night sky outside the curtains, paused for a moment, "The last one Once, after not seeing him for two years, when I saw him again, he was already lying in a coffin."
"You know, Dean." Rust turned around, a touch of fear filling his young face, "His face looked so unfamiliar at the time, I could hardly recognize it. Although there was a skilled makeup artist who He wore makeup, but his whole person was still a bit...inhuman shape. Bullet holes, stab wounds, burns? I don’t know what inhuman torture he suffered before his death."
Dean listened quietly and asked with awe in his heart. These anonymous workers risked their lives and were a group of great people.
"Since then, I have always had an inexplicable fear. It seems that someone will always come out of the darkness and kill me... Then, I will lie in the coffin like my father. I started to have nightmares. I couldn't sleep well at night. For the sake of my health, Grace took me to Las Vegas... took me to see many psychiatrists, and I slowly came out of the shadows."
It was rare for Rust to bring his best friend home, so he couldn't help but vomit out all the bitterness in his heart.
"The security in downtown Las Vegas is very good. There are police patrols on the streets 24 hours a day, which gave me a huge sense of security. I could finally sleep peacefully. But I didn't expect... to meet Bob Lowe. That kind of hateful rich second generation, he also has a group of sycophants... There is no doubt that here, 'dark' is much more powerful than 'light'!"
He suddenly came to a conclusion,
"Dude, don't worry..." Dean hugged his shoulders and said seriously, "I will protect you from now on... If Bob dares to beat you up, I will take you to beat him up."
Practice skills by the way.
Rust's eyes lit up,
"But Bob is a ruthless character. People who have offended him in the past will either transfer schools or drop out of school, and will disappear in the end. He will never let it go! Don't you consider apologizing?"
Dean was shocked after hearing this. Is this rich man so ruthless?
He began to rejoice in his decision to stay overnight, and at the same time prayed that no evil would be done to his family.
"Apologise, impossible."
Rust glanced at his friend's face. He had never seen such a determined expression before, and the questions in his heart couldn't help but blurt out.
"Man, I'm 100% sure that you are completely different from yesterday and before! When you saw Bob and the others, it was like a mouse seeing a cat. And you can't remember a lot of things!"
"What happened to you?"
Dean was silent, rubbing his fists and trying to look hesitant. Then, with great determination, he pointed at the faded marks on his neck and pretended to be frightened and said,
"I was attacked by someone, probably Bob's group, or someone else. They almost strangled me... For a moment, I felt that my brain was extremely deprived of oxygen, my consciousness was blurred, and everything was... It dissipated before my eyes. The darkness swallowed everything in me like a whirlpool."
"When I woke up, some of the memories in my mind seemed to have been swallowed up by the indescribable darkness. I forgot most of my school experiences, the names of my classmates and teachers, and my past experiences in school. But other memories were still there. exist."
Rust picked up the orange soda on the table and drank a few big gulps to suppress his shock.
His first feeling was that the other person was joking, but the scars on the other person's neck couldn't be faked, and he couldn't help but not believe the serious expression on his face.
His eyes flashed with surprise. Can partial amnesia make people more courageous?
"You should see a doctor."
"What if I recover from my illness and become a coward again? Just stay the same for now." Dean took a deep breath, "Man, I told you my biggest secret, so be sure to keep it for me."
"I swear to God..."
"Well, tell me now, apart from Bob Lowe...have I ever offended anyone else? Or, is there anyone who hates me in particular and is most likely to sneak up on me?"
Rust shook his head without thinking,
"The most weird and sarcastic comments anyone can make about you are Bob at the Baseball Park."
"Have I been acting strangely recently?"
Rust took a licorice-flavored twisty candy from the desk, chewed it while looking at his companion's expectant eyes,
"Does being depressed count? You haven't smiled much in the past half month. You are obviously pretending to be sad about something in your heart, as if you have fallen out of love, but you refuse to tell me and always hide it."
Persistent depression?
The investigation progress inexplicably jumped by 5% to 25%!
has a problem!
Depression and sadness are all related to suicide.
Dean couldn't help but tense up. He suddenly had a strong feeling that his departure might not only be related to what Bob and his gang did yesterday.
"Last, your answer helped me a lot."
Rust patted his chest, "We have always been on the same side!"
"I have a few more requests."
"Just say it!"
"Do you have a camera at home?"
"Grace bought a new Nikon F3."
"Can you use it?"
“I’ve used it to take several landscape photos in bird watching areas.”
"How about taking some photos with me? I agreed in advance that I plan to teach one of Bob's followers, a big fool on the baseball team."
Taking the initiative to offend the accomplices of the rich second generation?
A look of fear appeared on Rust's youthful face, and he shrank his shoulders unconsciously. He didn't want to be hung up on the baseball field again.
"Last, there is a bright road in front of you now. Come with me to regain our lost self-esteem. I have already made a plan and will not alarm outsiders. And when the time comes, I will be in front and bear everything. As for the consequences, you just have to cooperate - if you miss this opportunity, you will always live in the shadow of those bastards, unable to turn around!"
Rust's lips moved, but it seemed as if an invisible force sealed his mouth, and he could not respond.
"Last, answer me! Are you still a man?"
Dean suddenly shouted, his voice echoing in the living room, his expression as cold as ice.
Rust was startled, and finally weakly stretched out a trembling finger,
"Shall I just take a photo?"
"Maybe there are some other benefits. Let you take revenge and let them pay a little interest for what they did in the past!"
"Then...OK!"
Rust gritted his teeth and nodded.
“Happy to work with!”
Dean bit the hard candy in his mouth, smiled, stood up from the sofa, and forcibly shook hands with his companion.
Then twist your neck and wrists.
There was a crunching sound in the muscles and bones.
He glanced at the system——
Fighting lv0 (9/100)
"Now we are true allies! You don't mind if I use your living room to do some after-dinner exercise?"
